One Special Day
by trankwility
Summary: [AU] Who would've thought that Cloud could be so affectionate for a day? CloudxAerith [UPDATE][Chapter 4 is up! :D] Sorry for the wait!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : **I don't own any of the characters, but I do own the plot. )

**Author's Notes : **Hi! This is my second fic written ) Originally, this was supposed to be a one-shot but I'm lazy, so I've decided to break the parts up into chapters. :) I hope you don't mind. Anyway's, enjoy the story :D

* * *

**One (Special) Day**

_final fantasy **vii**(au) : cloudxaerith oneshot_

Chapter One **Morning  
**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aerith let out a slow, quiet moan while stirring in her bed, the blanket rustled with her movement causing wrinkles to form. For a mere second, her bright emerald eyes were half-open but soon closed to slumber once again. She nestled herself in the pillow to be more comfortable and slowly let out a soft, relaxed sigh.

When it felt like she was back in her dreams, her lips curved slightly up when she felt something warm and tender tickle at her neck. Another moan escaped her lips, as she breathed out the words, softly. "Ohh… That's the spot…" She stirred about again, holding the edge of the blanket closer to her face and nuzzled on it.

What ever that was on her neck, she enjoyed it and didn't want it to stop.

--

Cloud was fully awake, and he was sending those exciting shocks down Aerith's neck with small, sweet kisses. His arms were around her waist and he pulled her closer to him, planting more butterfly kisses down her neck, and lowered to kiss along her shoulder and than back up the neck. He repeated his gesture and didn't stop when he heard Aerith.

Her voice was soft and evident that she was still half-sleeping, but loud enough for Cloud to hear. "Mm Cloud, what are you… …What are you d o i n g?" A small smile tugged at his lips as he began to talk against her bare skin, still planting kisses when he could.

"I'm taking advantage…" The way his lips felt when he spoke on her skin tickled her, and caused her to giggle, waking her up.

She finally opened her eyes wide, seeing the sun's light trapped by the curtains wanting to come out and bathe them with its warmth. She closed her eyes, feeling the kisses that Cloud gave her send a tingle down her a spine every time. She opened them again, not wanting to ruin the moment but couldn't help but wonder; why was Cloud doing this? Aerith bent her head so as to block Cloud's way and managed to turn around, seeing his face, so loving and tender… Strange.

Cloud stopped and stared, _even if she just woke up, she still looks beautiful. _His eyes strayed to the upper-part of her chest that her nightdress didn't seem to cover. He smiled mischievously at her and was about to dive his head down when two hands grabbed his spiky head and pulled it up, a small pout was on his lips when he saw Aerith looking at him. Aerith laid one hand across his forehead to feel for a fever and began questioning him

"Cloud.. Are you feeling okay?" He nodded, slightly confused at why she asked. "Um.. Yeah, why?" Aerith let go of his head and scratched her own. " Well… You never act like this in the morning…" He widened his eyes, mocking her and gasped. "Soo… I'm not allowed to leave kisses on my girlfriend's neck in the morning?" He scrunched his lips to one side and thought, than shrugged. "Okay. I'll stop than." He smiled when he saw Aerith's reaction and almost laughed.

She began to explain why she had asked the question, while Cloud was laughing in his head. Didn't she know he was just kidding? A smile crept on his lips and he rolled his eyes watching Aerith stutter while explaining. Before she could finish, Cloud leapt in, capturing her in a kiss; sweet and simple. His arms, still wrapped around her, pulled her closer to him as he finally felt her respond.

It seemed like forever before they would ever part, but sadly they did. Cloud smiled at Aerith and gently pushed a stray piece of her away from her eyes and leaned in, planting a small kiss on her cheek. "Good morning…" He planted another kiss on her cheek before sliding his hands out and getting off the bed. "I'm gonna go take a shower." With that he left for the bathroom, leaving a slightly bewildered Aerith on the bed.

Aerith turned on her back, trapped in her thoughts and she didn't notice that Cloud had left. _He's acting so sweet. So… open. Strange, but… I like it. _ A smile crept on her lips as she turned around to look at the Cloud-who-wasn't-there.

"You know… I'm beginning to like the new-" She finally noticed that he wasn't there and lifted her head off the pillow, looking around their room. "Cloud?" She heard the sounds of running water coming from the bathroom and relaxed, putting her head back down and looked up at the ceiling, thinking. _He never kisses me in the morning, not unless the day is special… _Aerith thought back on the _regular_ mornings they had.

----------------------------------------------------

_Flashback /_

_Aerith woke up to the sounds of Cloud, he was already up and didn't seem to care if he was too loud and woke Aerith up. "Cloud?" He turned around, seeing her awake and gave one of his half-smiles. "Morning" He rushed to the bed and leaned, giving a quick kiss on her cheek and went out the door.  
_

"_I'll be downstairs..." _

_Aerith sighed, and lazily got out of bed. _

-------------------------------------------------------

_Why couldn't he just stay in bed, like he did today? I mean, he doesn't even have work, so there's no reason to wake up early…_Aerith sighed, knowing that tomorrow, everything would return to normal. She didn't know why Cloud had acted like this today, but she liked it and wished he would do something like that every morning.

Hearing the water turn off, Aerith sat up and looked at the door. She jumped off the bed, walking towards the window, and pulled the curtains apart, letting a blast of sunshine bathe on her, it was warm and felt nice. It was a beautiful day today, and little did Aerith know, it would get even more beautiful.

She looked out the window, then walked towards the bathroom door; getting ready for a new day.

* * *

**Author's Notes : **Hey y'all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
Sorry if it was kind of boring P I tend to do that when I write, write too much that it gets boring...  
Anyways, I actually might just write the whole story and post it, instead of having different chapters. What do you guys think?  
Well, whatever I do, I still have to finish the story, so until next time!

-_whisper whisper_-  
(don'tforgettoleaveareview)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
_finalfantasy**vii** : cloudxaerith_

_-One Special Day-_  
**Noon**

* * *

It was 12:00 now, and sadly for Aerith, everything seemed to be back to normal.

As Aerith went downstairs, she couldn't help but wonder, what's gotten into Cloud today?

Instead of her regular long, pink dress, Aerith changed into a simple, white blue-tinted picnic dress, with a small navy blue ribbon tied at the front.

Finally downstairs, she saw Cloud sitting on the sofa, with a can of pop in his hands and the television turned on. She stopped, looking at the sight and shook her head. _Typical… I knew it was too good to be true…_

She continued into the kitchen, opening the fridge, and saw barely any food in it. She dipped her head in disappointment, lazily closing the fridge. She went up to the cabinet, and opened it; seeing barely enough food to make lunch with. She closed it, rather loudly, and let out an agitated sigh.

Aerith looked to the living room, seeing Cloud's face glued to the television screen. She growled in her mind, and shrunk her eyes in dislike.

_Jerk!_

Obviously, the way Cloud had acted this morning and now was really getting to her. She hastily grabbed the keys of the house that was hanging on the wall, and quickly walked to the door.

Cloud watched as Aerith was shoving her shoes onto her feet, he arched his brow in question at her and looked her in the eye.

"Where you goin'?" His tone sounded as if he didn't care and just asked out of habit. Aerith scowled, quietly, and stared at him.

"To the grocery store." She shoved her shoe on too hard, and yelped in pain, still keeping her eyes on Cloud, to see if he noticed.

Nothing.

She rolled her emerald eyes at his head, and rested her hand on the knob, twisting it open. She looked back at Cloud, once more, to see if he would say goodbye.

Nope.

Aerith scrunched her face up in dislike to the soldier, and glared daggers at his chocobo-coloured head. She softly bid goodbye and was about to exit but was stopped by the soldier's voice.

"Wait." She froze, looking confusedly at Cloud, who had turned around to face her. A rare smile curved upon his lips, and Aerith could only wonder. Finally, Cloud stood up and set the can of pop on the table, brushing his hands off and smiling.

"Can I come with you?"

Aerith widened her eyes, her mouth went slightly agape and she thought she had a heart attack from the shock she had just felt. Cloud's smile widened as he watched her expression change, he almost let out a laugh.

Aerith shook her head, getting out of her shock, and eyed Cloud suspiciously.  
"_You_, want to go grocery shopping?" She questioned him in disbelief, and choked on her own spit when he nodded. She loosened her grip on the knob, and watched to see if Cloud was only joking.

Nope, no jokes there.

Cloud turned off the TV, and than looked back to Aerith, who was still standing in shock. He approached her slowly, and cocked his head to the side, slightly.

"So—o... Can I?" Aerith looked into his eyes, and nodded. Another smile formed on his lips and he began to slip on his shoes.

--  
Aerith waited for Cloud outside; all her wonders from before flooded back.

----------------------------------------------

_Flashback /_

"_Cloud, I'm going to get some things… Wanna come?" She knew he would say no, but hey, it didn't hurt trying. _

_Her hand was rested on the doorknob as she laid her eyes on the man who was sitting on the couch_

"_..." _

_She sighed in disappointment and bid him goodbye. _

_Sometimes, if she was lucky, she'd earn a grunt or even a reply to reject her question. _

---------------------------------------------

A smile graced her lips when Cloud came out, locking the door behind him. She stood at the step of the stairs, watching as he came down, fumbling the keys in his hands as he slipped them in his pocket. He smiled sheepishly at her when he walked up next to her, stopping. Aerith shook her head and smiled, turning the other way and started walking.

Cloud watched Aerith walk away, he thought she would say something smart-mouthed to him, but she didn't. He watched as his love was walking farther and farther away from him before he finally gathered his mind, and ran after her.

Aerith didn't know that Cloud was far behind her, she was regretting that she had thought those mean things to Cloud before. But all thoughts were incinerated from her mind when she felt Cloud's body hover over her, and felt his arm loop around hers, having their hands touch.

She looked up to him, noticing that he was closer to her now. She felt his fingers spread out, and lace between hers, intertwining with each other.

Emerald locked with sapphire when their gazes met each other, each having a smile spreading across their faces lovingly.

Aerith rested her head on Cloud's shoulder, which he accepted by gently resting his own on hers.

Together, they walked like that; head-to-head, smiling, with intertwined fingers, all the way to the grocery store, gaining a few envious glances from the other couples that roamed the streets.

_Maybe he's not so much of a jerk, after all..._

* * *

_Author's Notes :_ Hey! Sorry for the super long wait, I was braindead on what to write for this chapter, but luckily, I've managed to write one up. :)  
Thought, I gave up on this, didn't you? Hehe, well... nope! I haven't. Hopefully, if I don't forget my ideas again, I'll have the next chapters up soon.  
I tried to "fluff" this chapter up, but you can decide if I did that. I can assure you that the next chapters will be full of fluffy-fulffiness, if you weren't satisfied with this one. :)  
Anyways, thanks to **Foi, Lone Wulffe, **and** Midgar**, for reviewing:D

remember to read and review:_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters in Final Fantasy VII_

_A/N :_ Another chapter! Aren't you proud? I updated earlier! The idea came out randomly.  
Enjoy!

Chapter 3

_finalfantasy**vii** : cloudxaerith_

_-One Special Day-_

**Afternoon**

* * *

Aerith felt like a million dollars! She sighed in content, feeling her foot relax and receive unbelievable comfort.

"Like this?" She heard the soft voice of her partner in the air, and rolled her head on the sofa as he hit a pressure point on her foot, releasing a comfortable shock run through her veins. She bit her lower lip, refraining herself from grinning wide and exhaled a moan of pleasure as she answered.

"Ye.. a h . . . " He hit another pressure point and that sent her off the cliff but before anything else had happened, she felt the atmosphere of the room change drastically and her foot no longer felt comfort.

Aerith groaned tiredly, lifting her head off the pillow she was hugging to her chest. Her body was sprawled over the couch, with one leg hanging off. She rested her face back onto the pillow, feeling the soft, cool touch of its fabric and let out another groan, disappointed.

_It was just a dream..._

She heard the doorknob turn, and cringed at the sound. She rolled over onto her back, and watched as the door slowly opened, revealing Cloud, who looked just as tired as she felt.

--

He closed the door behind him and threw the keys on the nearest table. His eyes wandered to the round, ticking object hanging on the wall and unintentionally yawned. The clock read 2:05.

He rubbed his eyes from the tears that formed from his yawn and looked over to the couch, seeing Aerith smiling at him. He only stared, feeling his eyelids grow heavy and walked over to the couch.

Cloud looked at Aerith; she occupied the whole couch and didn't even bother moving to make room for him. He growled silently and took her two legs, pushing them off the couch causing the young woman to yelp, then recover herself from falling off, and sit back up. He mockingly grinned at Aerith, who glared at him and then plopped down on the couch.

He sighed in comfort, his muscles immediately relaxed feeling his body sink into the couch. He then felt his head sting with pain and quickly grabbed it with his hand, rubbing to comfort it. He glared at Aerith, knowing that she had hit him and stared at her coldly.

"What was _that_ for?" His voice was bitter; he continued to glare at her, getting slightly frightened as Aerith's expression grew angrier by the second.

Aerith huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, replying with slight anger in her tone. "Is that why you were acting so sweet? Just so you could get your own way for the rest of the day, and watch your stupid chocobo races?"

She shifted away from Cloud, and stuck her nose in the air, looking away from Cloud. "Hmph." Cloud blinked several times before his mouth went agape. He stopped rubbing his head, and scooted closer to Aerith, which only caused her to shift over more, until the armrest had stopped her from moving away any further.

Cloud stopped, leaving a gap was between them but he knew if he moved any closer, Aerith would probably hit him again. He sighed in defeat and set his eyes on the young woman's face. "What're you _talking_ about?" Aerith didn't bother looking at him and instead shifted her body to face away from Cloud.

"You _know_ what I mean..." She retorted back, closing her eyes and furrowing her brows in an annoyed manner. Cloud blinked several more times and thought about what she said before bursting into a fit of chuckles, which quickly changed in a roaring laughter.

Aerith opened her eyes, hearing Cloud's laughter fill the quiet atmosphere of the living room. She brought herself to look at him, seeing that he was clutching his stomach and almost roll off the couch. She snorted, and asked with a dangerous tone.

"What's _so_ funny, Strife?" Cloud stopped laughing, realizing that Aerith had addressed him by his last name. That couldn't be good.

He wiped away a tear from his eyes, trying to stifle the laughs that dared to come past his lips. However, the laughs instantly stopped when he looked her in the eyes, noticing that she was serious. He sniffed, rubbing the back of his head and straightened himself on the couch before hesitantly smiling at her.

Aerith arched her brow in a dangerous manner, and began tapping her fingers on her arm. Cloud could feel the sweat forming at the back of his neck, and laughed weakly.

"Uhh...Well... Um.." He was hesitating a lot, and nervously laughed, taking his gaze off Aerith. He began to rub the back of his neck and dipped his head in defeat when he couldn't think of any explanation for her question. He answered in shame and defeat;

"Nothing..." He shut his eyes in fear that Aerith would hit him again but was confused when he heard a quiet laughter in the air. He snapped his head up, seeing that it was now Aerith that was laughing. He stared at her, bewildered, and slightly jumped when she moved closer to him. Her laughter increased in volume when she saw him jump.

"What so funny, _Aerith_?" He asked her, feeling mocked, and glared. She continued to laugh, trying to talk in-between.

"You! ...I... have ...EX-SOLDIER Cloud... Mr. I'm-too-cool-to-show-my-emotions...wrapped..._all _around MY finger! ..." She burst out into another fit of laughter, leaving Cloud embarrassed and somewhat irritated.

Her laughter finally ceased, and she cleared her eyes of the blurriness before looking at Cloud. A sly smile crept on her lips and she scooted closer to Cloud, closing the gap between them. She teasingly began to play with his golden locks and spoke to him in an annoying baby voice.

"Aww, does my poor wittle Kuraudo feel embawassed..." She giggled, seeing his cheeks flush with a faint scarlet color. Aerith untangled her fingers from his hair and began pinching his cheek, teasing him, only to have her hand gently slapped away from his face.

"Stop it.." He whined, causing his cheeks to flush deeper realizing that he actually whined aloud. Cloud bit his lower lip and looked away from Aerith, who broke out into another fit of giggles. He mumbled something under his breath before looking back up to Aerith.

She finally stopped giggling and apologized. "Sorry, but it's just _sho_ fun to tease you!" He rolled his eyes, sighing in annoyance when she brought up the baby voice again. She pinched his cheek again while grinning cheekily.

"Leave me alone..." He spoke quietly, indicating to Aerith that he was serious now. She let go of his cheek and rested her hand on her lap, looking up at Cloud with bright eyes.

"Okay, okay...I'll stop.." She grinned again, receiving a slight smirk from Cloud, and grabbed his hand. "Come on! Let's go out for a walk." Cloud quickly jerked his hand out of her grip and stared at her.

"No." He sounded like a toddler refusing to eat his veggies. He saw the hurt enter Aerith's eyes and smiled, stating. "I'm tired." He faked a yawn, and watched as Aerith furrowed her brows, confused. She yelped out loud in surprise when Cloud had stretched himself across the couch, catching her waist and dragging her down with him.

They were now lying on the couch together with Cloud behind Aerith having his arms wrapped around her waist, nuzzling his nose in her neck. He dragged her closer into his chest, and started planting short, soft kisses across her neck.

Aerith moaned, closing her eyes, this situation reminded her greatly of what had happened in the morning. She quickly opened her eyes, turning her head slightly to face Cloud, blocking his way and questioned him, just like before.

"What _were_ you laughing at, Cloud?" He stared into her vivid, green eyes and planted a soft kiss on her cheek before cheekily smiling back.

"At you. I knew that whatever you meant, it was probably wrong." She arched her brow in confusement, causing Cloud to shake his head, letting out a little chuckle. "You're wrong about why I'm acting sweet with you today..." Aerith cocked her head, and looked at him, interested. "So, why _are_ you acting sweet with me today?" Her question gained another shake from Cloud, as he replied. "What? Don't I act sweet with you everyday?"

Aerith looked up to the ceiling, curling her lips up and thought.

-----------------------------------------

_Flashback /_

_Aerith and Cloud were sitting on the couch, watching the chocobo races. The flower girl looked up to her partner in interest, and began to seductively rub his chest. Cloud brought his attention to her, looking at her with slight lust in his eyes. She bit her lower lip, knowing that she caught his attention and asked him sweetly._

"_Cloud... Let's go out for a walk." Cloud's smile disappeared, as did the lust in his eyes, he ignored her soothing rubs on his chest. Sighing silently to himself, he brought his attention back to the chocobos before replying back with no interest. _

"_Uh... No." _

_Aerith slumped her shoulders and stopped rubbing his chest, looking disappointed. She sighed, defeated and rested her head on his shoulder; thoughts began to mingle in her mind. _

_Her reverie was interrupted when she felt Cloud's arm wrap around her shoulder, gently rubbing it. She looked up to him; he looked away from the television and smiled, planting a small kiss on top of her head. _

"_Maybe another time..." He spoke softly and continued to watch the program. She smiled, snuggling up into his chest, realizing how sweet he was until..._

_Cloud jumped up and yelled in victory, pushing Aerith off of him causing her to fall to the ground. She yelled, and glared at Cloud who was still watching the race and yelling some more. He finally noticed Aerith on the ground, and cheekily smiled. "Oh sorry, honey." He sat back down on the couch, and continued watching, not bothering to help her up._

_She looked at him in shock, and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, shaking her head in dissatisfaction._

----------------------------------------------

Aerith brought her eyes back to Cloud, and shook her head, replying in a matter-of-factly tone. "No, not really." Cloud pouted slightly, looking down in shame. "Sorry..." He tightened his hold on Aerith, and kissed her on the cheek again, planting lighter ones several times after. She smiled, and again, her curiosity got the better of her.

"So-o... Why are you acting _extra_ sweet with me today?" She added the 'extra' so as not to make him feel bad again, and stared at him, dedicated to getting an answer. Cloud smiled slyly, and caught the corners of Aerith's lips with his own before he rested his cheek on top of hers, closing his eyes. He rubbed his arms over her waist, before tightening the embrace again, and slowly fell asleep.

Aerith felt his warm cheek on top of her own and 'clicked' her tongue on top of the roof of her mouth before shifting slightly to get more comfortable. Within the few minutes that passed, she felt her eyes grow heavy and closed them, losing to the drowsiness that cast its spell upon her.

* * *

**Author's Notes : **Thanks again to all you reviewers! **SimpleNClean92, Beeria, and Foi **::heart::  
So, was this fluffy enough, or should I add more? :)

'Til the next chapter:D


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Cloud or Aerith.

**Author's Notes :** Wowowow... Sorry for the super late update! I'm not dead yet. &I haven't forgotten about this! I just had a bad case of writer's block, and it took me awhile to get this going... :P Don't worry, I'll try not to delay this story so much and I'll try to write up more one-shots to support this ultra awesome couple:)

Well anyways, this chapter was hard one... :/ I didn't expect it to be long but it turned out to be around 5 pages in word. So anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope I haven't lost my regular reviewers. ;)  


* * *

Chapter 4  
_finalfantasy_vii_ : cloudxaerith_

_-One Special Day-_  
**Evening**

* * *

**  
**

Aerith wiped her forehead of the small bead of sweat that formed from the high concentration on preparing the supplies for dinner. Her eyes slowly set themselves on the clock installed in the oven, reading the neon-green numbers:. 6:34 – oh wait.. 6:3_5. _

She sighed deeply, casting her eyes onto Cloud's spiky hair that stuck out like a sore thumb from the sofa. The TV was on full blast, and Cloud's yelling didn't help at all to lower the volume. It was only three hours ago, that Aerith remembered that the house was quiet and the two of them were lying on the couch together, having a peaceful nap in each other's arms.

Another sigh escaped her lips and she felt a migraine coming but made no effort to cure it, instead she continued on with preparing the dinner.

She took out a pot and pan, turning two of the dials on the oven and setting the cooking pottery onto the heating element. From the sink, she poured a cup of water into the pan, watching as steam puffed up and sizzled in the heat. She turned the dial to medium and pulled out a cutting board, preparing to cut the vegetables.

Aerith jumped slightly in surprise when she saw Cloud sitting down at the table, reading the news. She didn't realize that all the noise was gone until she saw him, either her migraine kept her from noticing or it was her thoughts... Or maybe it was both. Cloud looked up to her with his gorgeous blue eyes, wondering why she jumped.

"Cloud, you startled me!" She mockingly glared at him and returned back to her vegetables. Cloud smirked and mumbled an apology. "Sorry..."

Instead of going back to the paper, he continued to stare at her, watching her cut the vegetables, slowly and steadily.

His mind jolted in surprise when he heard the knife clatter on the cutting board and heard Aerith whimper out in pain. He got off his chair and rushed up next to her, seeing her finger covered with blood. He cast a concerned look her way and rushed off out of the kitchen. Aerith watched him, appalled that he left and curled her lip up in anger.

A few seconds later, Cloud came back with that concerned look still on his face. He was holding something small in his hand and quickly rushed back to Aerith, stopping next to her. He grabbed her hand and inspected her finger before looking at her with a smile.

"It doesn't look so bad..." Aerith smiled at him, watching him wrap a band-aid around her bleeding finger. She winced slightly at how tight he had wrapped it but just smiled, not wanting to let him know.

A small smile continued to play on his lips as he finished wrapping the band-aid over her finger, he caught her gaze with his own and just stared lovingly towards her. Without taking his eyes off hers, he slowly brought her finger up to his face then brought his attention on to the finger, placing a gentle kiss on it.

He opened his eyes again, knowing that Aerith was gushing silently. He smiled teasingly at her and poked her nose before chuckling out loud.

"All better." Aerith crossed her eyes to look at the finger that poked at her nose, and then stared at him with a huge grin forming on her face. She stuck her tongue out at him and poked his nose in the same manner he did to her.

"Thanks." She planted a small kiss on his cheek before going back to her knife and vegetables.

The sound of chopping was heard again. Cloud watched as Aerith returned to her cutting and was slightly disappointed. He pouted somewhat and observed what Aerith was doing, noticing that there were a lot of vegetables waiting to be diced. He stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, resting his head on his right hand. He continued to observe her skills and spoke when she stopped, turning her head around to look at him.

"That's a lot of vegetables... Do you have to cut them all?" Aerith smiled, he knew nothing at all about cooking which made her laugh. She set the knife back onto the cutting board and turned around to face him, feeling his hands travel down her shoulders and grab her waist. Aerith giggled at his touch and replied.

"Ye-es... It's not a lot though..." She grabbed his hands on her waist and pulled them off, turning around to face the countertop. She looked over her shoulders and smiled flirtatiously. "You can help me cut them." Her eyes sparkled, hoping that he would agree to help but didn't force it upon him.

Cloud thought for awhile, and nodded causing a huge grin to spread across Aerith's face. He opened a drawer and pulled out a knife and took another cutting board from the wall it was hanging from. He placed the board a few inches away from hers and set the knife on the counter, looking at her questioningly.

Aerith pointed at the tomatoes in the bowl and grabbed a stick of carrot. She began to cut it, while Cloud grabbed a tomato and put it on the center of the board, clueless on how to cut it.

_Does she want it in little cubes? Or slices...? _

Cloud scratched the back of his head with his free hand while eyeing the tomato on the board that seemed like it was taunting him. He glared at it and held it steady, imitating Aerith beside him and slid the knife through the red fruit in to long slices. He saw the juices run down onto the board and looked at the perfectly cut tomato slice that was lying idly alone on the board.

He smiled with triumph and again, slid the knife through the tomato, watching as another slice fell on top of the other one. He continued that process until there was nothing left to slice. Cloud set the knife on to the board and looked over to Aerith, who had been watching him with an amused smile on her face.

She raised a brow in amusement and chuckled. "That's perfect, Cloud. Good job. Now you can do the rest." She smiled big at him and pointed at the three tomatoes still left in the bowl. Cloud's shoulders slumped and he groaned but it didn't last, as he pushed the slices aside and grabbed another tomato, smiling at Aerith before she went back to cutting the carrots.

Together the two cut the vegetables in silence. Aerith felt the migraine in her head pass away and she got used to the tightness of the band-aid around her finger. Her eyes set themselves upon her band-aid finger and she was reminded of how Cloud had aided her and she began to think back to when she had done the exact thing, but for Cloud.

----------------------------------------------------

_Flashback /_

_Aerith was minding her own business upstairs as she was folding the laundry while tidying the room up at the same time. Her soft humming accompanied her while Cloud was doing a few chores downstairs. Aerith jumped in fright when she heard a loud howl come from downstairs and a line of curses. She set the t-shirt on the bed, and quickly ran downstairs to see what Cloud was yelling about. _

_Downstairs, Aerith saw Cloud kneeling down on the floor; he was mumbling something incoherently. She walked up to him and knelt down, grabbing his hand away from his face, where a finger was inside his mouth, and inspected the finger that was covered with blood. _

_She shook her head and stood up, leaving the room for a second then came back with a band-aid and tissue in her hand. Cloud watched her as she approached him and kept his eyes on her as she knelt down again, grabbing his hand in hers. He saw that beautiful smile gently caress her lips and couldn't help but smile himself. _

_Aerith wiped his finger clean, and wrapped the band-aid around his finger. Once that was done she looked at him with sincere eyes and gently placed a kiss on his finger. She saw his cheeks faintly glow with red and giggled, placing his hand on her lap and grabbed hold of one his cheeks before tugging at it teasingly. _

"_There! Allll better." She let his cheek go and patted his hand on her lap before standing up again, looking down at him. Cloud looked up at her then to his finger, then back to her. He smiled and stood up, grabbing her waist and pulled her into a small, sweet kiss. They pulled away from each other and shared a smile before Cloud bowed his head, thanking her. _

"_Thanks." Aerith nodded and slowly began walking upstairs, their eyes never left each other until she disappeared from behind the wall. _

----------------------------------------------------

Aerith smiled at that memory, and placed a finger on her lips. She still remembered that kiss as it happened only a few days ago. Without knowing, a smile had placed itself on her lips and she had stopped cutting. She snapped out of her reverie and looked out the window, gasping out in astonishment. _Wow..._

Cloud was concentrating on slicing the last tomato, his brows were furrowed and he was biting his lower lip while sliding the knife in and out of the tomato. He was interrupted when he heard Aerith whisper out his name, catching his attention. He looked over to her and grunted. Her eyes were fixated on the window, or rather, what was outside the window. He brought his gaze to the window and gasped.

The sun was setting now and out their window, they could see the silhouette of the mountains and the sun peeking out before it said goodbye. The clouds were painted with calm hues of orange, red and yellow with specks of blue and purple. It was beautiful. Romantic. Absolutely breathtaking.

Cloud ripped his eyes off the window and onto Aerith, who was still captivated by the setting sun. He eyed her, before smiling with sly thoughts in his mind and nudged her on the arm with his elbow. As she turned to look at him, Cloud leaned in and pressed his nose on hers and nuzzled against it.

He caught a glimpse of her emerald eyes then it disappeared when he slid his eyes closed and closed the gap between their lips.

The knife clattered onto the board as Cloud had dropped it to grab hold of Aerith's waist. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms securely around her and deepened the kiss. He felt her finger tangle between his locks, massaging his scalp which sent exciting shocks through his veins. Cloud began to push Aerith backwards as their kiss deepened but before they could fall to the ground, Aerith had opened her eyes and pushed the man off of her.

She saw the disappointment in Cloud's eyes but ignored it while smoothing out her dress.

"We should really finish making dinner..." Her voice was quiet, and her cheeks were slightly red. She avoided eye contact with Cloud and went back to the counter, picking up the knife and grabbing a stick of celery.

Cloud scratched his head and shrugged to himself before placing himself back next to Aerith and in front of the cutting board. He took a stick of celery and began chopping at it. With every chop he made, he tried to sneak a glance at Aerith.

By the time Aerith had grabbed her second stalk of celery, she peered to her right, where Cloud was standing next to her and felt a rush of happiness in her mind. She stopped chopping and grabbed the edges of the cutting board, pushing it closer to Cloud's. He watched as she inched closer to him, ceasing his cutting as well.

Cloud smiled warmly when he felt Aerith's head rest on his shoulder. He chuckled slightly, moved closer towards her, closing the small gap they had between their bodies. Aerith beamed, and looked out the window again, watching as birds were flying across the sky.

"The sunset's so beautiful..."

She admired it and was happy that she could see with Cloud by her side. Cloud nodded along with her, and smirked. "Yeah..." He looked down at Aerith, and smiled.

"It is."

* * *

A/N : Thanks to Beeria, SimpleNClean92, Foi, and Aeris1172 for the reviews:) 


End file.
